Housing Update

Here is an interesting article that I found on LinkedIn.

http://www.linkedin.com/news?actionBar=&articleID=5567733516482908167&ids=cPAQdPwSdj4Re3cScjwTc3wRdiMOdz0TdPsVcj0Rc34PcjAVdPkRb3sOej8NcPAPczoNe3gPe3sTdjkIdPkSe3sUdz4UdzwOdz0QdPsRdiMTdz4Uc3AOe3gScjkPcPsTdzkR&aag=true&freq=weekly&trk=eml-tod2-b-sum-0&ut=0I93bqdhg7qB81

- Doug

United Country Posts Huge Sales Growth!

United Country January Sales Result Highlights

Land sales were up 42% over last January. Land GCI was up 35% in GCI and land sales were 49% of our business for the month. This is the first time in many years that land was a bigger portion of our business than residential in a given month. Average sale price for land was the biggest driver of our success this month going from $167,945 last year to $204,537 which was a 22% increase in average sale price. Residential average sale price was down 1.7%.

Its interesting that we just reported a record month for internet activity with increases very near those reported for land sales. Why is that important? It tells us to list more land. List it with owner financing if possible. Continue to list residential when you have the opportunity but focus your extra effort and promotion on listing land!

http://www.unitedcountry.com/

http://www.unitedcountry.com/realestatefranchise/index.htm

- Doug

A Great Couple of Weeks

Had a great week last week meeting with one of our valuable strategic partners...The Rocky Mountain Elk Foundation. Thanks to to great leadership, the foundation is in the best shape that it has ever been in! Look forward to renewing our partnership for the next several years.

- Doug

United Country Grows in Mexico!

I had a fantastic finish to my trip to Mexico by welcoming new partners to the United Country team. Jim Dolan, Nancy Howze and the very prestigous real estate professionals of C/D/R Real Estate in San Miguel de Allende, Mexico are joining the #1 lifetstyle real estate company in the world.

Check em' out: http://www.cdrsanmiguel.com/index.php/index

- Doug

Working in Panama

I had a great day working with our United Country partners in Panama today. I look forward to another one tomorrow.

Check em out! http://www.uc-panamarealestate.com/

- Doug

Making Money with Online Auctions | United Country Auction Services

Making Money with Online Auctions | United Country Auction Services

Read Body Language for Better Service

This is a great article in the USA Today. The Real Estate industry should do the same thing.

See below...

http://travel.usatoday.com/hotels/story/2011-10-24/Face-off-Hotel-staff-taught-to-read-guests-body-language/50896514/1?csp=tf

- Doug

Great Credit Check Source

Found a great credit checking source. Check it out.

http://www.quizzle.com/

Good tips on how to repair beat up credit scores too!

- Doug

New United Country Real Estate Franchise Owner in Buena Vista, Colorado

Peri Solder of United Country - Alpine Realty in Leadville, Colorado has expanded into Buena Vista, Colorado. She has assembled and all-star cast of real estate Brokers that will do very well in Salida, Buena Vista and all of Chaffee County, Colorado. Those agents include: Karin Adams, Nancy O'Connor, Tim Hiser, Bruce Ward, Mary Lou Penaguslio and Maria King.

This will be by far the most experienced talented team of realtors in the area and will be doing exceptionally high level marketing for all of their clients immediatley.

-- Doug

U.S. Housing Update

August 2011 Market Update:


The U.S. housing market has shown increased stability in home sales during 2011 compared to the previous year. Home prices are up 18% since their low in February. Signs of recovery remain mixed in the economy-employment and GDP came in less than expected while the strong points were in consumer confidence and new home starts. INTEREST RATES Mortgage rates remain at record lows after steadily declining in May, primarily due to uncertainty in the global and domestic economies. While these incredible rates represent a significant savings for home buyers, experts note that for the benefits to fully be realized, lending conditions must loosen to enable more buyers to take advantage of them. As overall economic activity gets back on track, rates will likely rise to keep inflation in check. In other words, the window of opportunity for buyers to lock in these historically low interest rates may not remain open much longer. HOME SALES Home sales in June were down 8.8% compared to the same month last year when the impact of the tax credit was at its peak. Compared to the previous month, however, sales held relatively steady at 0.8% below May's numbers. NAR Chief Economist Lawrence Yun cites an unusually high number of contract cancellations the month before as an explanation for the slight easing of sales in June. HOME PRICES For the first time in a year, home prices are up year-over-year and month-over-month. This marks only the fourth time that prices have increased since June 2006. Home prices rebounded 8.9% in June with median home prices rising to $184,300. This is 0.8% above the year-ago level. Median home prices remain close to 2003-2004 levels. The combination of low prices and historically low interest rates means that home affordability is extremely favorable. INVENTORY The supply of homes measured in months on the market at their current pace was up during June compared to May. This is keeping with inventory levels typically rise during the summer months. Month's supply remained 24% below the peak of 12.5 months in July 2010 and 14% above April of 2010 when the home buyer tax credit was in full swing. DEBT CEILING After a drawn-out debate between the House and the Senate, Democrats and Republicans; Congress and the President reached a deal on August 2, 2011, to raise the debt ceiling. Because of the decision and the additional borrowed funds, the United States is safe from defaulting on its debt and will be able to pay its bills. The deal includes the following: Immediately cuts spending by $917 billion and raises the debt ceiling by $400 billion. It will raise the ceiling by another $500 billion in February, providing funds through early 2013. Creates a joint committee of twelve members from the House and Senate that will make recommendations for $1.5 trillion in deficit reduction measures, and if the plan is rejected by Congress, several automatic spending cuts will take effect. All of this will require Congress to vote on adding a balanced budget amendment to the constitution, which would mandate that future spending cannot exceed revenues. If it passes, the debt ceiling can be raised by $1.5 trillion. If not, then it can only be raised by $1.2 trillion. Lack of concrete details about how the deficit will be reduced sets the stage for continued political debate in the coming months and years. And with the U.S. securities AAA rating being threatened with a downgrade, the credit agencies will watch carefully to ensure Congress takes action to steer the country in a financially solvent direction. A downgrade would result in higher interest rates, making it more expensive for consumers and the government to borrow money. Bottom line: crisis averted-it's business as usual for now, but this is not the last to be heard regarding U.S. deficit and debt levels. Some reports indicate that this may change the game in Congress from "spend, spend, spend" to "cut, cut, cut.”

- Doug

Source:Donald Miller - Denver Mortgage Company